Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Armillary Sphere

As I've mentioned before, I was known for making incredibly accurate observations. I didn't have a telescope like Galileo, but I did invent many instruments that were very advanced for the time and allowed me to observe the stars with an acute accuracy. I used something that is called an armillary sphere. What is that, you're asking?


The top picture is my own, from my published work Astronomiae instauratae mechanica. The bottom is a real life example.
I actually had several armillary spheres, known as zodiacal or equatorial armillas, depending on which coordinate system they referred to. In the zodiacal system (NOT to be confused with longitude and latitude on the earth)., the coordinates are celestial longitude and latitude. In total, I constructed four armillary spheres: The zodiacal armillary sphere (1581), the north equatorial armillary sphere (1584), the south equatorial armillary sphere (1584), and the great equatorial armillary sphere (1585). Each one was placed in different places in my observatory, due to the fact that the towers of the castle were a hindrance to making observations in some directions. So, I made more than one, which allowed me to observe in all directions.

So, Gailieo really shouldn't be given ALL the credit. I mean, my inventions were REVOLUTIONARY for the time. No need to thank me (but you could stand to mention it a bit more...)

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